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Cotoneaster brilliant is one of the varieties of the famous ornamental shrub, which is widely used in landscape design. With its help, hedges, evergreen sculptures are created and unsightly areas of land are decorated.
Description of cotoneaster
The brilliant cotoneaster is a bush that belongs to the Rosaceae family and serves as a decoration for many garden and park areas, as well as private properties. In appearance it is a shrub with rich foliage. The shrub is deciduous, which means it loses its leaves in the winter.
The leaf shape is oval, with a slight point at the end. The leaves are small in size - about 4 cm. The surface of the leaf is smooth on both sides and varies in color from light green to juicy green, depending on the season and conditions.
In autumn, a characteristic feature of the shrub is the change in color of the leaves from green to purple.This gives the bush a pleasant appearance and the entire area an autumn warmth.
This variety of cotoneaster is practically never found in the wild. It is rare and listed in the Red Book. Eastern Siberia is considered the birthplace of the brilliant cotoneaster. It is edible, but is not widely used in cooking because the fruit does not have a specific taste.
Planting and caring for brilliant cotoneaster
With proper care, cotoneaster, as shiny as a hedge, can grow in one place for up to 50 years. It is a natural long-liver. For planting shrubs, it is better to choose a lighted place, but partial shade is also suitable. The main conditions when choosing a location are deep groundwater and the absence of strong wind.
Site selection and soil preparation
It is not recommended to choose a place in the shade; the bush will feel uncomfortable there and will not be able to form a lush hedge. The planting site should be sufficiently illuminated and at the same time hidden from strong winds, since the brilliant cotoneaster, regardless of the planting scheme, does not tolerate windy weather.
The time for planting is chosen both in spring and autumn. In any of these seasons, the hedge will take root perfectly and will delight you with its beauty.
Cotoneaster is an unpretentious plant, but the creation of fertile soil with a normal nutrient medium when planting is necessary. To do this, be sure to mix 2 parts of sand, the same amount of turf soil with one part of compost. The latter can be replaced with peat. Add lime here at the rate of 300 grams per square meter of area.
The depth of the hole for planting shiny cotoneaster should be about 70 cm. Since cotoneaster does not like excess moisture, care should be taken to ensure good drainage.The drainage layer is created from broken red bricks and pebbles. Drainage layer - 20 cm.
How to plant brilliant cotoneaster for a hedge
After this, the seedling is lowered into the hole and added dropwise with a fertile mixture. Each layer is compacted a little. The root collar of the seedling should be flush with the surface. After planting, the seedling is watered and then mulched with peat. The mulch layer is 6–7 cm.
For a hedge, seedlings are located on both sides, and the distance between them is up to 30 cm.
Rules for caring for brilliant cotoneaster
To care for shrubs, watering, pruning and fertilizing are necessary. If you do everything correctly, then there will be no difficulties in care.
Since cotoneaster does not like moisture, it is recommended to water it no more than once every 14 days, and this is provided there is a complete absence of rain. It is necessary to pour a bucket of water under each bush, after which the soil must be loosened. If the summer is rainy, then you will not need to water the bush. This is a drought-resistant plant that thrives if the humidity is slightly below normal.
But it is also necessary to wash off dust and plaque from the bush with a stream of water, even if the plant is not watered.
Haircut of brilliant cotoneaster
This shrub is characterized by rapid growth. Therefore, it is necessary to trim the brilliant cotoneaster regularly; this is the basis for proper care and formation of hedges. Dry, painful and damaged branches must be cut off in any season. This is the so-called sanitary pruning.
Formative pruning is carried out in the spring before the beginning of the growing season. If the owner wishes, the bush can be given any shape. When formative pruning, it is advisable to ensure that the bush loses no more than a third of its shoots.
How to feed brilliant cotoneaster
The plant needs to be fed in early spring. To do this you will need 25 grams of urea per bucket of water. In this case, fertilizer is applied to the root zone at the rate of a bucket of water per square meter. Before flowering, the shrub will also need fertilizing. You need to take 15 grams of potassium sulfide and 60 grams of superphosphate. Feeding ends in August, because otherwise the brilliant cotoneaster will not have time to prepare for winter.
The shrub also responds well to organic fertilizers. To do this, it is necessary to water the root zone once a year with a solution of chicken manure in a ratio of 1:10.
Preparing the bush for winter
To prepare the bush for winter, it is enough to carry out sanitary pruning and also stop feeding in August. The brilliant cotoneaster, which looks great in the photo, tolerates frost well, and therefore there is no need to cover it.
Reproduction of cotoneaster brilliant
The shrub propagates in several ways, each of which is quite effective. Every gardener will be able to choose the best option for himself and make his garden plot a real object of design art. The brilliant cotoneaster allows propagation by cuttings, layering, and also seeds.
Cuttings
One of the most reliable methods of reproduction. Cuttings can be either green or lignified, 15 cm long. Shoots that are pruned during formative pruning are excellent. They must be healthy and have at least two internodes. In the spring, before planting, cuttings should be placed in growth stimulants for several hours.
After this, the cuttings should be planted in a prepared soil mixture, which consists of humus, sand and turf in equal quantities.It is necessary to plant at an angle of 45°. The top of the future cotoneaster is covered with a glass jar, which is removed every day to ventilate the cuttings. So the seedling survives until autumn, takes root, and after that it is calmly planted in a permanent place. The first year before winter, the cuttings are covered with coniferous branches or leaves.
By layering
If the bush has shoots that hang no more than 10–12 cm above the ground, then the bush can be propagated by layering. To do this, bend the shoot to the ground and pin it, after which it is mandatory to sprinkle it with a nutritious soil mixture. In the fall, when the cuttings take root, they can be separated from the main bush and replanted in a permanent place.
Seeds
Propagation by seeds is a less effective method, since cotoneaster seeds have a low germination rate. The algorithm of actions if you have a hedge of brilliant cotoneaster does not seem complicated:
- Collect fruits.
- Select the seeds, remove the pulp and dry them.
- Soak before sowing. Throw away those that float.
- The remaining seeds should be sown at a distance of up to 15 cm from each other and to a depth of 4 cm.
- The first shoots can take a long time to appear, up to a year after sowing.
- After germination, during the first year the shoots stretch up to 30 cm in height.
- After another year, the plant begins to form a crown.
Cotoneaster brilliant in landscape design
Cotoneaster brilliant in landscape design not only looks gorgeous in the photo, and therefore is a favorite plant among decor lovers. How to use shrubs in landscape design:
- Cotoneaster is often used as a hedge.
- They give various shapes, ranging from simple balls to a wide variety of geometric shapes.
- Single plantings are planted against the background of the main lawn.
- Used in compositions with other plants, evergreen and deciduous.
The use of shrubs is very wide, it all depends on the imagination and taste of the designer.
Pests and diseases of cotoneaster
The plant is resistant to most diseases and pests. But it also has its own characteristic problems. Due to excessive moisture, the shrub may be susceptible to fusarium. If such a pathology is detected, it is necessary to cut out all diseased shoots and destroy them, otherwise the bush may die.
Typical pests for shrubs:
- Mol. Insecticides are used to control the pest.
- Spider mite. The most common pest of cotoneaster.
- Aphid. It is easy to spot by the wrinkled leaves of the bush.
In any case, at the first signs of damage, you need to use insecticides; in the early stages or for prevention, a tobacco solution or other folk recipes are perfect.
Conclusion
Cotoneaster is rare in the wild because the seeds have a low germination rate. But in landscape design, the shrub has long taken pride of place as a universal plant, which is found in rock gardens, hedges, and single sculptures.
